So far, detectives haven't come up with any hard leads. The victim was identified through fingerprint records she provided when she once applied for a job as a health aide, according to police.

A homeless man who was passing through the park in the Fresh Meadows area of Queens to go to a local food kitchen discovered the body. Police have pretty much ruled that man out as a suspect as well, the official said.

Kiemde had been working in a bakery near her Elmhurst apartment, which she shared with her father, identified in news reports as Weinqun Ma. Police have been interviewing bakery workers, as well as a few men she recently socialized with, the official said.

Surveillance videos are also being examined to trace Kiemde's final hours. Boyce noted that the victim was found about five miles from her apartment.

Funeral arrangements for Kiemde were expected to be finalized in the next few days with the help of fraternal associations in Manhattan's Chinatown.